Class
A class is a role assigned to a player. It dictates their role in the game and their powers. It is one part of the player titles, the other being the Aspect. There are twelve known normal classes and two "master" classes. Classes describe mechanics and intended roles, "channeling" the Aspect into possible action and powers. They come in active(-)/passive(+) pairs, a vague concept with a lot of flexibility. Various definitions and guidelines of the pairings have been revealed from a simplistic; active=offensive, passive=defensive; to the more complex; with the active classes employing or affecting their aspect directly and for their own gain, and the passive classes being affected by their aspect, and sharing their actions with the team. Calliope of this dichotomy with the Rogue/Thief pairing (Thieves steal to benefit themselves, Rogues are Robin Hoods), and (Princes destroy their aspect or use it to destroy things, Bards allow the aspect to be destroyed, or bring destruction through the aspect). The activeness or passiveness of a class is one of multiple factors related to whether a player is a Prospit or Derse dreamer. Calliope also explains that some of the classes tend to be assigned to males or females, some going as far as being exclusive to a certain gender. A few class mechanics were explicitly explained, others implied: Seer The Seer is a passive (+) class that supports and coordinates their team members. According to Aradia, they understand their aspect comprehensively, which makes them quite prescient in respect to their aspect (i.e., Terezi knows all consequences of individual actions, Rose knows the "most fortuitous path", and what happens in it). It could be surmised that the Seer class is defined as "one who benefits others with their knowledge pertaining to their aspect". also states that Seers will keep their party from making grave mistakes, as if they had a strategy guide for Sburb imprinted deep in their mind. The key phrase for Seer is, "I Know aspect." The class is assigned to both male and female players. Knight Aradia that Knights are warriors that exploit their aspect as a weapon. It is unclear where they fall on the active/passive axis. Using their aspect to improve their own combat ability suggests that the Knight is active. On the other hand, both Knights have seemed to function primarily as defenders of their teammates, befitting a passive role. The key phrase for Knight is, "I Fight Using aspect." Dave has so far saved the lives of every single member of his team, resetting the timeline to save John and Jade, then later rescuing Rose from the Draconian Dignitary near the end of act five. Karkat is less successful in the role despite his best efforts. He does, however, manage to defuse the , which would have doubtlessly killed one or more of his surviving friends. He also may have been responsible for resurrecting Kanaya, albeit as a Rainbow Drinker. From this, and the traditional definition of the role of a knight, one could speculate that the Knight serves as a protector for other players in the session. Given these speculations, one could surmise that the definition of the Knight class is "one who manipulates their aspect as a weapon in order to protect others". The fact that the Heir class is most likely to be an active class, further supports the speculation of Knight being a passive class. The Page, as a young squire or assistant to a knight, is also speculated to be the passive counterpart to the active Knight. However, both perspectives are pure conjecture at this point. The Knight may also have something to do with breeding the Genesis Frog, since in two of the sessions so far, the Knight has assisted the Hero of Space in the breeding. It appears not to be a necessary part of the game however, as the Cherub Session has only players of the two master classes. The Knight is a class assigned to both male and female players. Rogue/Thief This pair of passive/active classes deal with stealing, and turning the others' powers against them. While the active Thief will steal things to their own benefit, the passive Rogue will enhance their teammates, or their session with the stolen aspect and is described by Roxy as a "Robin Hood" of their aspect. The key phrase for Rogue is, "I Divide aspect," while the key phrase for Thief is, "I Take aspect." Vriska, as the Thief of Light, is able to steal luck from her allies or enemies, and make herself luckier. Roxy, as the Rogue of Void, is said to black-out her entire session in the future, presumably via sharing the black-out with her teammates. Roxy also "stole" pumpkins from around the world and shared them with her neighbors, fitting in with the "Rogue = Robin Hood" description. Meenah, as the Thief of Life, "stole" her friends' lives (by killing them) so they could continue to exist after the scratch. The idea of the black-out may or may not have anything to do with Rose going Grimdark. These classes are often assigned to female players, but not exclusively. Bard/Prince These classes deal with destruction. The Prince, as the active, is literally simplified to "destroyer of aspect" or "one who destroys via aspect". Bards are somewhat stranger, in that they "allow destruction of aspect" or "invite destruction through aspect". The Bard is also quite the wildcard; unpredictable by nature and thus equally likely to help or hinder his party, often to great effect. In extreme cases they are either single-handedly responsible for their party's massive downfall, their improbable victory, or sometimes even both. The key phrase for Bard is, "I Initiate aspect," while the key phrase for Prince is, "I Destroy aspect" The Prince's powers seem to include phenomenal offensive abilities, using their aspect to completely overwhelm other aspects or players. Eridan, as the Prince of Hope, killed or k.o.'d a lot of his teammates, including Sollux, who up to that point was one of the most powerful fighters in his session (second only to Gamzee, Vriska, and, possibly, Equius). He also destroyed the Matriorb, the trolls' hope for the survival of their race. While unconfirmed, evidence seems to indicate that the "white science" powers he used were actually his aspect, Hope, being used as an attack. If this is the case, then Princes may be able to channel their aspect into its physical form for destructive purposes. Dirk, the Prince of Heart, literally 'destroyed heart' as he killed the Hegemonic Brute (Hearts Boxcars). If the pre-scratch version of Dave's bro is any indication, Dirk is also an incredibly strong fighter. Gamzee, as the Bard of Rage, could enter some sort of berserk mode, causing deep fear in everyone around, and becoming exceptionally strong. When he did he was surrounded by a strange purple lightning which turned red later, and may have been Rage itself considering the purple colours of his God Tier robes. This suggests that Bards can use their Aspect to improve their own abilities and possibly others. Later on he allows his Rage to be destroyed by Karkat, and sets a trap for Terezi that, by inspiring Rage against Vriska, invites her to commit destruction. He has been seen in God Tier clothing while in possession of Aradia's music box time machines, suggesting that like the jokerkind strife specibus can use other weapons, Bards can use their aspect to 'mimic' the powers of other aspects. This would be in keeping with the idea that Bards and Princes are an opposite pairing: the Prince overwhelms other aspects entirely, while the Bard exploits other aspects to strengthen their own aspect. Bards and Princes are exclusively assigned to male players. The God tier outfit for Princes seems to consist of pantaloons and a crown, much like an ordinary prince, despite the class's non-literal nature. It should be noted that, in a somewhat related circumstance, the God Tier outfit of the Bard class comes standard with a clown-like form better suiting a jester and MASSIVE codpiece, which is a highly likely reference to "Bard Quest", one of Hussie's previous adventures. Sylph The Sylph is a magic based class that is speculated to specialize in healing. As a Sylph of Light, Aranea healed primarily by helping people to see things, both figuratively and literally. In the figurative sense, she focused on helping people to heal from psychological wounds. In the literal sense, she offers to restore Terezi's eyesight for her. Considering the information given it could be speculated to be a passive (+) class, due to "helping others" or "healing others". The key phrase for Sylph is, "I Educate aspect." Kanaya also that a Sylph is "Sort Of Like A Witch But More Magical", meaning that it is possible that the Witch class could either be its active (-) counterpart or that the Sylph and Witch classes may have similar abilities. Sylphs could also be speculated to be a female exclusive class. Witch The Witch is an active (-) class. Based on the actions of Jade Harley (the Witch of Space) and Feferi (the Witch of Life), the definition of the Witch class seems to be "one who manipulates her aspect to the benefit of others" or "one who manipulates x". Two facts to support this theory is that Jade shrunk the planets to escape the Scratch (therefore benefiting everyone inside them), while a doomed alternate timeline Feferi healed WV through a dream bubble. However Jade was merged with Bec at the time, making it uncertain if these were normal abilities or if they were augmented by First Guardian powers. It could be also speculated that the Witch class has powers consisting with expansion/extending/augmentation due to the fact that Jade, as a Witch of Space, can manipulate the sizes of objects, as well as alternate timeline Feferi who was able to heal WV or possibly extend his lifespan much like how the Condesce did with the The Ψiioniic. The key phrase for Witch is, "I Manipulate aspect." Witches are speculated to be a female exclusive class. Maid Based on the actions of Aradia (the Maid of Time) and Jane (the Maid of Life), one could surmise that the Maid class is defined as "countering/defending against an enemy's attack(s)". Aradia was able to freeze Jack, while Jane was able to heal herself after being stabbed. It is still unknown if Maid is a passive or active class. While the facts above point to active, it should be noted that Aradia was responsible for helping the other trolls defeat the Black King with her time travel abilities, and Jane stayed alive to help her teammates. They key phrase for Maid is, "I Fix aspect." An alternate theory is that the Maid class is a pun. Thus the Maid class is one that "provides itself with its aspect", which would make it the active (-) counter part to the page class if the speculation on that is accurate. This would mean that Aradia is literally made of time, and Jane is made of life, supported by the fact that Aradia froze Jack to give her time to escape and Jane gave herself life by healing after being injured. An alternative is that the maid is one that "provides others with their aspect" as the mythology of Jane's planet has her providing life to the entire world, and the example for Aradia could go either way. This would mean that the Page class does something else however. Maids are speculated to be a female exclusive class. Mage Based on the actions of Sollux (the Mage of Doom) one can surmise that the Mage class may be related to the Seer class, as it also has something to do with a "deep understanding of the aspect". It may also mean "benefits himself/herself with knowledge pertaining to their aspect", though it should be noted that Sollux had concrete visions instead of just knowledge like Rose. Mage can also be synonymous to "given protection from their aspect's ill effects", assuming that Doom has something to do with calamity and death (Sollux had multiple dream selves and being able to exit the dream bubble and only half died). Another possibility is that the Mage class could be the passive (+) counterpart to the Witch class and can mean "one who manipulates with/through the use of x". The key phrase for Mage is, "I Create aspect" Heir The exact powers of an Heir are unknown. John (the Heir of Breath), however, displays control over the Breeze. Based on the powers of John and Equius (the Heir of Void), a Heir may be "one under the protection of their aspect", or "one who protects themself by using their aspect". John was saved by the Breeze twice before he learned how to willingly use it, and Jack Noir was unable to pick up the source of his scent, as if the Breeze was protecting him. Equius (as well as his ancestor) was given the ability to not be noticed, which can be seen as an effective form of protection. Equius used his fists as his main weapon, which can be interpreted as him using nothing - Void - to fight and defend himself with. Heirs are speculated to be a male exclusive class, and may be the 'Active' equivalent to Knights. Heirs may also be the male equivalent to a witch. Page The powers of the Page class are currently unknown. The Page of Breath, Tavros, was shown exhaling with breath that resembled the Breath symbol when preparing to wake Vriska with a kiss. How this may tie into his class is unknown, although it could mean that a Page is "one who provides others with aspect". Can be speculated as the male equivalent of a Maid, and may be in an active/passive pairing with it. Speculation also points towards a pairing with the Knight class. Dirk (albeit the splintered version of Dirk that exists only within Jake's subconscious) that Pages have a lot of untapped potential and once they find this potential within them they are adept at using it. A Page of Hope is particularly dangerous in this regard, as the imaginary Dirk fears Jake's status as one. This potential is also when Tavros and Aradia talk about how Tavros's Flarp class Boy-Skylark's "useful combat abilities don't come into play until you reach a very high level." This could be referring to his role as a Page. Due to the relation in name, Pages are also speculated to be the active counterpart to a Knight, although it may be that page is meant more in the sense of "a blank sheet of paper", referring to the vast potential they have. It may be speculated, by virtue of the contextual relation of the words 'page' and 'knight', and by the Knight's abilities as explicitly displayed by Dave as the Knight of Time, that the Knight is the active "equip," class: one who wields one's aspect, while the Page may be the passive counterpart: one who equips others with one's aspect. This implies that as Dave is able to employ Time as a powerful weapon by virtue of his "time tables," Tavros, as the Page of Breath, is able to equip others with breath, explaining the Breath symbol that appeared when he prepared to revive Vriska with his kiss. Master classes Calliope has stated that two classes are significantly more powerful than the others, and that these are the classes she and Caliborn have. Her class, Muse, is female-exclusive and the most passive of all classes, while Caliborn's class, Lord, is male-exclusive and the most active. Presumably, these classes are paired, but nothing about their nature is known. Lord may be a reference to Doctor Who (Lord of Time, as to pair with Calliope's Muse of Space). Category:Homestuck Concepts